Something Stupid
by RoseintheShadows7
Summary: She'd been a typical normal girl for a long time. Now she was about to do something stupid. She was going to do something so wonderfully stupid that it caught Robin's attention. She was going to become a creature of the night.It won't end well will it?
1. Prologue

_**Prolouge**_

Silence: An unbearable, deafening silence that could drive the most sane person mad if they sat in it for too long. It was the kind of silence that you'd expect if you were walking through a graveyard in the middle of the night. That is it would be that type of silence if you'd worn earplugs to the graveyard. Usually the city known as Gotham would be full of activity on a late Saturday night. Usually there would be crimes going on. Usually there would be cars going by. Usually there would be noise.

Apparently that night wasn't usual.

Apparently that night was the opposite of usual.

On this particular, unusual night a lone stood on the roof of city hall, staring down at the street below. "It's over." She whispered. "I'm finished." She took another step towards the edge. It was a long way down. The fall alone wouldn't kill her. No, the solid concrete beneath would though. For some reason that didn't bother her. It would be fast. Easy. Simple. Over before she would have time to think about it…right?

"Hurry it up." A husky, horrible voice growled from behind her. No she wasn't alone. She wanted to be. She wanted the psycopath behind her to disappear. She wanted to be back in his arms. She wanted to be safe with him again. She wanted to hug him one last time and apologize for being stupid. She wanted to kiss him goodbye. "Just go or were you all talk when you said you weren't afraid?" The maniac laughed and the girl shuddered again.

She stood on the ledge of the building, staring down. This was it. It was over. She was a goner. In a matter of minutes she'd be dead. "One more thing," She turned to face the man. He glared at her as if she were an insect--An insect that could sting and kill, but an insect none the less. She returned the glare, equally hostile.

"What is it child?" The man shouted, hand still grasping the gun that was the only reason she didn't take him down then and there, "A dying wish to make me change my ways?"

"No," She smiled grimly, even though she had no reason to smile. "When you see him, let Batman know I said hello." With an enraged scream the man surged forwards and shoved the masked girl off of the building. As she fell the brown haired girl closed her was not afraid.

"Goodbye." She whispered to him. Where ever he was.

She knew he couldn't hear her. She knew he wasn't going to be able to save her. She knew he wasn't there to catch her this time. And for that, she cried silently as she fell. Tears streamed from her eyes as the ground came up to meet her. Her cape whipped around from behind her like a black wing. Her life seemed to flash before her. Not in the way like it supposedly does in the movies. No, she saw every detail. Every. Single. One.

So instead of seeing the ground rushing towards her, the young woman saw the past two years of her life play out before her.

________

**Okay, I know it's a corny start, but give it a chance. This was just the prolouge so it's like a quarter as long as future chapters will be. I don't own Batman or any of DC's characters, but I invented one of the characters you will be meeting next chapter and the storyline behind her. **

**Lots of Lazers,**

**RITS7**


	2. Abnormaly NOrmal

_**Chapter 1—Abnormaly Normal**_

She was your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill teenaged girl. She had a simple, average attitude that was nothing really special, and a simple, average look. She was just what you'd expect. Unexceptional dark brown hair that swept just past her shoulders, light brown eyes that didn't really seem any different, pale skin with nothing noticible or outlandish to it; that's all there was to her. She was just a typical girl.

The only thing about this girl that anyone would see as odd or different, was that she lived in Gotham. She could've moved to sunny San Fransisco with her parents when they'd had enough of Gotham and its ludacrous inhabitants. She could've left crime city behind her. She could've gone and lived a safe, happy life away from there. But no; for whatever reason she kept herself firmly planted in the city of crime and fear.

She had a small apartment that was pretty nice for the part of town she lived in, a steady job, and a few friends to hang out with on Friday nights. She wasn't noticible. As was already pointed out, she didn't really stand out in a crowd. She was just…average. She dressed in a non-flashy way that was easy to ignore: Band t-shirt beneath a zip up hoddie and skinny jeans with black tennis shoes. Easy to overlook. Easy to forget about.

She'd spend her weekdays working 13 hour days then go 'home' to work on papers for work or maybe even take a few minutes off and take a nap. One of the few weird things about this girl; She did NOT sleep. The most she'd ever managed to sleep was two (maybe 3) hours at a time. Then she'd spend her Friday nights out on the town—at least the safe parts of town—with her friends. She'd spend Saturday at home, writing for her job, and then go straight to work Sunday morning until the evening. After work she'd rush home and hope not to be mugged on the way.

On this particular, regular, typical Sunday evening the same regular, unnoticible girl was walking home. Alone. Through the worst part of the city. Was it yet mentioned that she was alone? To make the fact that she was alone worse, the street lamps hadn't come on yet. So it was a dimly lit street with only a few cars going by and very few pedestrians. The perfect night for street scum. The same teenaged girl had walked home during the day; even THEN in broad daylight it was bad. But the number one thing you didn't want to do is get stuck on Gotham's streets at night.

Pick pockets, muggers, swindlers, mobsters, gangsters, drug dealers, perverts, drunks, druggies, and even off-duty cops were waiting to rip you off or even kill you. To say the least it was dangerous and stupid to be out on the streets. But it didn't seem to bother the teen as she walked to her apartment complex.

She wasn't worried at all. In fact, she hummed as she went along the sidewalk. Maybe it was the fact that she had black belts in three different divisions of self defence…maybe it was that the Batman was out on the prowl and criminals were running scared…or maybe it was even the large can of mace she had in her over-the-shoulder canvas bag that made her feel safe. Whatever the reason, nothing scared her. For whatever reason this regular, typical hummed happily as she trekked towards her home in the dangerous, crime ridden streets of the city known as Gotham.

She pushed her drak brown bangs out of her eyes and let her black hood fall from her head. No nothing bothered her. Not anymore. Ever since the idea had come to her she had been relentlessly cheerful. Ever since she had started to plan she had been at ease and calm. A man went by on the opposite side of the road, wolf whistleing at her. She ignored him and continued her journey home.

Hah. Home. As if anyone would consider that desolute apartment home. It was ridiculously below standards. The floresent lights flickered endlessly, none of the outlets had covers and some didn't even work, some windows didn't close all the way OR were jammed closed, phone service sucked, there was barely ever any hot water, and if you thought that you were going to be living in a cockroach-free enviroment you'd be sadly mistaken. In short, it was the nicest apartment building in the entire east side of Gotham.

The stars were coming out as the young woman finally arrived at her destination. She entered, pulling her key out of her pocket. She ignored the creaking of wooden stairs as she ascended to the top floor of the building. (It was such a cheap place it had no elevator.) She went over the beautiful plan again as she jammed her key into the knob on room 6-14. Sixth floor, fourteenth room. She turned the key violenylt—that was the only way it unlocked the door without sticking—and stumbled in.

She looked around the room quickly. A shredded sofa sat in the corner with a barely working reading lamp on a cracked side table next to it. A small black-and-white TV with tin foil wrapped around the antenas resting a few feet in front of a dingy looking queen sized bed with a thin blue blanket that would barely keep you warm during a 100 degree drought slung over the bed post. A mahogany chest of drawers with several open or even pulled all the way out was propping up a full length mirror with a crack running right down the middle. The bathroom door was still open and the dripping sink was visible from the door. Yep, it was exactly the way she had left it.

Smiling slightly, still enthraled with thoughts of her plan, the young woman unzipped her hoodie and tossed it at the sofa. It landed with a dull thud. You see, this typical teenaged girl off the streets of one of the most dangerous cities in the entire country was about to do something ridiculously stupid. It was such a wonderfully ridiculous idea that she'd originally rolled her eyes and ignored it. But then the idea slowly turned into a plan. And then the plan swiftly became a nagging want that had to be fulfilled.

So, she finally gave in. Over the course of four months she'd carefully purchased different pieces of the plan from different locations. (She did so just in case anyone would try to track the purchases.)

She'd started with the boots. A pair of dark green combat boots, the same kind they used in the military. They weren't easy to find and therefore, they were expensive. But she'd managed to finally get her hands on them at a hunting shop in Northern Gotham. Then she had to get the full body stretch suit. This was much easier to find, especially since there was a large number of costume shops and things of that sort in Eastern Gotham. It was black, so smooth it was almost reflective. If the light caught it just right, the fabric would shine blood red. Perfect. She needed a cape; Again, easy to find. She purchased the cape from a local Halloween shop for a pretty cheap price. It was black and cracked like a whip if shaken properly. From the same place she'd purchased a pair of white ballroom gloves.

Finally, the mask: Central Gotham had a small shopping complex where there was a little store called 'Hallows Eve'. There they had a wide selection of masks; from butterfly shapes to you're everyday hockey mask they had it all. There she'd found it. It was the final piece of the puzzle; her mask. It was simple really, black silk with no extra decoration. It rose into two peaks at the tips. It reminded her of the boy wonder's mask, although his didn't end in the tips like hers did. She purchased it and locked it away with the rest of her costume.

And there she founder herself on that regular Sunday night, pulling on the full body suit, fastening the cape around her shoulders, pulling on the gloves (which she'd dyed red and cut off all the fingers), laced up the red combat boots (courtosy of a last second spray paint-job), and placing the mask onto her face.

She gazed at her reflection in the full body mirror, grinning. It was a beautiful plan. It would help people, save lives, put criminals away, it would be perfect…right? She shrugged off all doubts and beamed at the mirror. "Time to fly," She was ready.

She was Scarlett.

No longer that ordinary, easy-to-forget 19-year-old girl, no longer frightened by the idea of being mugged by common criminals, no longer typical…She was Scarlett.

A kind of electricity danced in Scarlett's veins as she wretched her bathroom window open. She threw herself out of it, landing on the window ledge of one of the floors below.

Time to fly.

---------

Scarlett fought the bubbling urge to laugh as she raced along the rooftops. It was wonderful to be free. That regualr girl forgotten by eveyone was far behind the new-born legend. Now she was Scarlett, ready to join the crusade against criminal scum and alienated cops. IT would be beautiful. She ran along those rooftops for a long time, heading for Crime Alley. Scarlett wasn't really sure why she wanted to start her branch of the crusade there, but it felt like the place to begin. It felt like the right place to be. No…it felt like the perfect place to be.

Leaping down from the rooftops Scarlett hit the ground running. She passed some lunatic talking to an alley wal and several common thugs (unfortunately none of them were doing anything illegal so she couldn't nab them). She kept to the shadows and out of their sight.

It was cold. Perfect weather if a thug was in the mood to pull something. Not many people would be out on a cold Sunday night. Less witnesses, more profit.

Scarlett smirked grimly when she heard it. A desperate scream echoed from a nearby alleyway. She dashed into it to see three tall, muscular men crowding around a young blond woman. She was clutching her purse close to her, pleading with them to leave. Perfect. Scarlett carefully assessed the possibilities. The odds were three to one with an innocent civilian nearby; not perfect. BUT, there was a large chain and a metal pipe against one of the walls; that WAS perfect. The woman screamed again as the men continued their menacing approach. Scarlett surged into action.

In one, smooth motion she placed herself between the woman and the thugs and a few feet away from the chain and pipe. "You know you really shouldn't be out this late, when the sun goes down the shadows come to life." She growled at them. They towered over her. They had brute strength. One probably had a gun. Scarlett liked the odds more and more every moment. The very moment she finished her sentence she nailed the closest criminal with a powerful right hook. He stumbled back bumping into the alley wall.

The other two began their advance on Scarlett. "Shouldn't all the little girls be in bed by now?" The larger of the two asked, cracking his knuckles for effect. He had short black hair and an uneven goatee.

She rolled her eyes, "Funny, I was just about to ask you three ladies why you were out past dark." She stepped back and carefully closed her fingers around the cold metal of the pipe.

"Why you little—" The man she had punched before bull rushed Scarlett, ready to beat the pulp out of her small frame. She stepped to the side, letting him smash into the brick wall. His knees buckled and he lay still, knocked out cold.

"Whoops, easy there big guy," She nudged him with her foot. "You almost hit me!"

The other two were tired of her smart mouth. The one with the goatee stepped forward and aimed a puch at Scarlett's midsection. She swept the pipe up as if it were a staff and smacked the blow out of the way, following it up with two kicks and another blow from the pipe. Two out of three of the men were unconcious now. The third man pulled out a gun and aimed at Scarlett's forehead as she polished off his two partners. She spotted him a moment before he pulled the trigger and swung the metal pipe as if it were a baseball bat. It collided with the man's torso and he keeled over, the gun clattering to the concrete, followed by a heavy thump as the man hit the ground.

Her first mission was a success. A beautiful success that Scarlett would remember forever; it was the night that started it all. Now all that there was left to do was get the lady to spill and then get the thugs behind bars. "Yeah only one problem," Scarlett muttered. "The civilian already took off." She grabbed the chain from the ground behind her and wrapped it securely around the men. Then she woke goatee man up. "Hey…Hey you," She growled, pulling his face closer with the collar of his shirt.

"No—No please don't hurt me. Please! I'll do anything." He begged, shying away from his captors face.

Scarlett smiled darkly, "Good. You're gonna tell the cops EVERYTHING. About the woman, about the robbery, and about me; every detail goes to the cops and you three are gonna spend a nice long time in the slammer. GOT IT??" Her voice rose to a shout as she held the man inches from her face.

He cowered again, "Y-Yes, I-I'll tell em everything. W-What are you?"

Scarlett turned away from them. "I'm not anything or anyone. I'm just a shadow." So she lied to a thug and scared the wits out of him…so what? He deserved to be scared. He deserved to rot in jail. She pulled a quarter out of her glove and slid it into the pay phon on the corner of the street (she had a hidden pouch in the thin cloth for just this kind of occasion). She dialed 911. The opereator answered:

"Nine-one-one what is your emergency?" It was a male voice.

With her darkest voice she answered, "I just found a few guys ready to rob a young woman. I took care of em but you need to come pick them up. They're in an alleyway on Route 14 in East Gotham. I won't be there." Then she hung up without waiting for a response. She took off running as fast as she could. Her red boots slammed into the pavement over and over again until Scarlett jumped. She landed on the nearby fire escape and clambered onto the roof. Her cape billowed out from behind her as the wind kicked up again and she took off running.

Over the course of five hours Scarlett made four more calls to the police station. Including the first three men she'd put away eight criminals that night. Not all of the fights were as easy as the first. She got a nasty slash to the shoulder when one of her mug-busts got out of hand. It was just two guys then but one had a freakin' machine gun. A MACHINE GUN! How was she supposed to compete with that? The other had a hunting knife that managed to slice right through her costumes thin material. Great, one more thing she had to fix. Then another guy (he'd been alone) managed to give her a huge bruise on the side when he took a crowbar to it. Lovely; one more thing to worry about. But other than those two things there were no other real problems. Eight guys was a descent number for someone's first time out on the streets, especially if those streets were in Gotham City.

The sun was coming up and it was time for the shadows to head back home. With an extreme effort she pulled herself onto the roof of the nearby store. She laid flat on her back, panting. She just needed a second. "Impressive," A deep, soft voice murmered from beside her and she was on her feet in a half second. She came face to face with the brightly clad hero known as Robin. He was a little taller than her, with spikey raven colored hair (in this story he starts out at 19 as well), "Eight criminals in one night with no weapons."

"You followed me?" Scarlett frowned from behind her mask. She'd always admired Robin—at least from affar—and it was weird to be standing in front of him while in costume. "Talk about desperate." She teased with an easy smile.

Robin laughed at this. "Yeah, I guess it was just interesting to see an ametur at work."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it was facsinating and quite educational. I suppose now you're gonna tell me to get off the streets and leave the crime fighting to the professionals who've been doing it for years."

"No," She was a little startled when the other teen's soft voice uttered this response. "No, I was going to ask you if you were okay."

Scarlett realized that a thin line of blood was oozing from the still opened wound on her shoulder. She let her cloak fall around her, hiding her entire body from his view. "I'm fine. I can handle it."

"I never said you couldn't."

"Oh, but you were thinking it."

"I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

"Then why follow me?" Scarlett demanded. "The only reason you went after me was to make sure I wouldn't get in too deep."

Robin flinched visibly. True that was originally the reason he had followed her, but after about five minutes he knew she'd be just fine. "I needed your help." He lied. "There's a mob bank just north of here and I was watching you to see if you'd be able to handle helping me take it down. You win though, you kick some serious butt."

Scarlett caught herself blushing. She turned away from Robin and considered this. "All right I'll help you, but what about Batman? Won't he have a problem with me helping you?"

She was smart too--Robin smirked to himself--and she assessed every angle of the issue before agreeing to things. She was strong and fast too. She would be perfect. But there was a nagging thought in the back of Robin's head. She was also pretty and fragile looking. "Batman is out of town." That was the truth. Batman was in Asia going after a big time mobster with a 60 million dollar heist in tow.

"So you can't just do it on your own?" Scarlett teased, watching Robin from over her shoulder. "I mean you are THE Boy Wonder aren't you?"

"Yes, I could go crash a huge part of the mob's income on my own," He grinned, knowing she wouldn't be able to resist. "Or you could come creep some more crazies out with your shadow talk."

"Fine, you got me. But don't think that it's because of your fancy backwards wording either, don't flatter yourself." She was facing him again, mere inches between them. "You wouldn't be able to snare me with words Mr. Bird." She leaned closer to him, putting only a half centimeter between their lips.

The boy wonder felt his heart skip a beat. Was she really going to kiss him? "I'm gonna need your name." He breathed against her lips. "I can't just call you 'you' now can I?"

"I'm Scarlett. You'll be seeing me around." She whispered then she pulled away (without kissing him), turned on her heels, and hopped off of the rooftops.

"I'm Robin, but you already know that." Robin smiled, knowing she didn't really hear him. She really was a smart one.

******

**Okay!!! So the last chapter was even LESS than one quarter of this one. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Review and let me know! I wanna hear what you guys have to say so write a review or send me a message! **

**Scarlett is my own creation; do not steal her or the story behind her. I don't own Batman, Robin, Gotham, or any other characters affiliated with DC. (Whatever, Fanfiction made me do this.)**

**Lots of Lazers,**

**RITS7**


	3. Northern Boys

**Misfitting Northern Gotham Boys and A Normal Southern Gotham Girl**

Four teen-aged boys were loitering outside of a pretty nice building. It was midday in Northern Gotham, safe enough to be out on the street… if you were with somebody…or preferably, two somebodies. One was leaning against the towering structure. His black hair hung in front of his cold blue eyes, standing out with electric green streaks. Two others had matching brown hair with red streaks, and the fourth had bleached his hair to such an extent it was almost white. Passing pedestrians picked up their pace when they saw them. The black haired boy glared at them as they went.

Those pedestrians knew nothing about what was happening. In the North side of Gotham, everyone thought the police would protect them. They all thought the police still had control. They all thought their tax dollars would save them. They all thought wrong. The only four residents of Northern Gotham who understood this were those four boys. They were brothers, though not by blood they carried a bond amoungst them that could weather the greatest storm. They protected one another while the illegid 'protection' of cops wilted away.

"Where is she?" The white haired boy hissed, chewing his gum rapidly. His jeans were loose and reached all the way to the ground. He was clearly antsy; he never liked waiting with cops around.

"Cool it, Ghost, she'll be here." One of the brown-haired boys piped up. He kept his hood up, low enough to hide his eyes and keep him from seeing...not that not being able to see was anything new to him. "She always comes to see us."

"I just don't like being out here with all these cops around." Ghost readjusted his 'BrokenCyde' band t-shirt. And then, as an afterthought, he added, "You're one to talk about seeing people Slim." The second of the two brown haired boys stood up. He shot a glare at Ghost that could melt the statue of Liberty. He didn't speak but the glare did the talking. "All right: all right. Sorry Slim…you too Hush." Hush nodded and sat back down, leaning his head back against the wall.

The black-haired boy rolled his eyes. "You should know better Ghost. Mess with either of the twins and you get either an earfull from Slim or a death-glare from Hush. Heaven knows nobody wants either."

This made Slim and Ghost laugh while Hush grinned. "So Rexxi, when's Saturn coming?"

Rexxi looked up. His leather coat parted to reveal a 'Northern Boys' T-shirt and he reached into the inner pocket. Pulling out a folded up piece of notebook paper he opened it. "Her letter says four o'clock but—"

"Guys," A familiar voice called. All four boys looked up to see a brown eyed girl running towards them. With a whoop they all jumped to their feet and met her halfway. "Sorry I'm late I was—AH!!"

Ghost caught her around her waist and lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. "We thought you were DEAD!"

"Huh?" She tilted her head a bit. He set her down, only for her to be jumped by Slim and Hush.

"SATURN!" Slim grinned, reaching for her. She put her hand out, so he could find it.

"Right here Slim. Hey Hush." Hush nodded a confused expression on his face. "No, I'm okay. I just had to work overtime."

He nodded, pulling his twin brother back a bit so he wouldn't crash into a nearby light pole.

"So, the planet shows up." Rexxi chuckled. "Ghost was worried 'bout you." He too hugged his closest friend.

"I was not." Ghost shot him a glare. "There were cops everywhere man."

"And thus, the paranoia sets in." Saturn sighed with mock worry. "Where are we going again?"

"Just the pizza shop, then I was thinking we could go to The Playground." Rexxi smiled at Saturn. "You get any sleep last night or are you still up 24 hours?"

"Hah-you're hilarious." Saturn rolled her eyes. "No, I slept a full three hours."

They all talked, far too loudly for the comfort of the nearby civilians of Northern Gotham. Anyone who saw the group immediately wondered what a nice brown haired girl was doing with a bunch of rowdy-no-good-outcast-weird-impaired boys. But she loved all of them. They were her brothers, her father figures, her close uncles, her buddies, her pals, her absolute best friends. In short, they were family. Even though Hush couldn't talk, she understood everything he wanted to say. Even though Slim couldn't see, he would always see her for who she was. Even though Ghost was horribly paranoid, she knew he was a good guy. And even when Rexxi teased her, she knew he was just saying 'I-love-you-sis.' in his own little way.

They walked for a while, laughing and disrupting all peace that once existed. When they finally arrived in the West Gotham Pizza joint, they had been walking for a little over half-an-hour. "Hey, Freddie," Rexxi called to the host. The gawky 17-year-old knew the five well enough. They were in there all the time after all. "Booth for five; Just the usual."

Freddie nodded and led the older teens to their seats. "I'll go let the boss know you guys are here."

"Thanks, Fred." Saturn flashed a smile.

They all sat down; spending the next hour drinking bottles of Dr. Pepper, talking to one another and people in nearby boothes, wrestling across the table for breadsticks and pizza slices, jumping up to switch the song on the jukebox, arguing over which bands are better, and everything was normal.

"And then he just slid right off the roof, into the dumpster!" Ghost finished his story, everyone laughing.

The five were popular in West Gotham. It was the clean-ish, safe-ish part of town where they fit in with all the other teens. They were even considered cool by some.

"Hey guys, I need another Dr.P," Slim cut into Ghost's story, "Anyone else want one?" All four of them raised their hands. He sat silently for a moment. "You're all raising your hands aren't you?"

Everyone laughed, "Right-a-rooney!" Rexxi grinned. "You're skills of perseption have not steered you wrong."

Saturn smiled too, shaking her head. "How you managed to fail your senior year still evades me. Come on Slim, I'll help you carry them."

The two slid out of the booth and went up to the counter, Saturn slightly guiding Slim with her hand. "Two more Dr. Pepper's over here, Freddie." Slim called in the general direction of the host.

"Comin' right up you two," Freddie grinned, knowing that the other boy couldn't see the gesture. It was more for the pretty, simple girl standing next to him and guiding him away from a bar stool. "You guys hear about that girl showin' up last night?"

Saturn tilted her head (she always did when she was confused or intrigued) and cocked an eyebrow. "Girl…here? Doesn't that happen like every day?"

Freddie laughed, "No, I mean that girl they're calling the newest vigilante in Gotham. I heard she caught eight guys last night, all of 'em pleaded guilty and are servin' time.

Now Slim seemed interested. "So there's another Bat in the family?"

Freddie laughed again (he figured being light-hearted would help him in the department of winning Saturn over), "They said she told them all to tell the cops about her or something. Her name was some sort of color. Burgundy or Scarlar or something, I don't remember."

"Scarlett?" Slim offered.

"Yeah that's the one."

"Great," Saturn rolled her eyes, "Just what Gotham needs. All this girl is is just another chic in spandex and elastic, saving the world one citizen at a time." She accepted the five bottles of soda/pop/sodapop from Freddie, handed two of them to Slim. "Thanks, Fred. We appreciate it."

"No prob," the younger teen grin widened. 'Yeah,' he thought, 'she digs me.'

But really the "planet's" thoughts were nowhere near the host/soda-counter-worker/waiter. No, she was thinking about this Scarlett chick. Who did she think she was, poking her nose where it didn't belong? A grim smile played at the girl's lips, she was probably gonna get busted…or worse.

Her thoughts were interuppted when she bumped into somebody. "Opps, sorry." She apologized quickly, looking up at the teenaged boy she'd run into.

She recognized him at once, and realized there was no reason to apologize. It was Paul. He was from the Southern parts of Gotham, rough and mean. He went out of his way to bother people and cops and…well…anyone. He was a little over 6'9" and was as muscular as Rexxi was, if not more so. He was permanently slouched over and always glared at everyone who came within 20 feet of him. In short, he was a giant… a mean, rude, disgusting giant, who had suddenly taken interest in the 19-year-old girl before him. "Hey," He smirked.

"Hello." She responded softy, avoiding his black eyes. The only person in the world who made her nervous was him. She tried to step around him and keep walking.

He caught this, and stepped in front of her, "Off so soon?"

"Hey buddy," A hard, stony voice spoke up. Saturn glanced over her shoulder to see Slim standing there. He didn't know where Paul was or how big he was or how he could get hurt. All he knew was that this guy wanted trouble, "How about you leave my friend aloned."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Beat it tiny; can't you see we're talkin' here?"

"Actually," He just had to smirk grimly at the irony, "I can't." He reached out and took Saturn's hand, gently pulling her away from Paul. "And apperently YOU can't see that you're bothering this young lady right he—"

CRUNCH! Paul had gotten sick of Slim, and just broke his nose right there. He staggered back due to the blow's force, falling backwards over the nearby pool table and knocked two chairs over in the process. Immediately, three other boys were there, cracking their knuckles. Hush helped Slim off of the ground, glaring at the brute that'd injured his twin.

Rexxi glanced at Saturn. "You okay? This troll didn't hurt you did he?"

"No," She glared at Paul. "You okay Slim?" She called to her friend.

"Yeah," He called back, blood running out of his slightly crooked nose. "I'm okay."

Ghost's brown eyes had become slightly glazed over. His facial expression was smooth and stony. His thoughts had become a red blur of hate towards Paul. He'd break his neck in a heart beat. You wouldn't be able to tell from looking at Ghost, but he was a fighter. He could take down anyone, no matter where he was from. When he spoke it was a half-choked out threat and half-icy promise. "If you ever come near Saturn or Slim or anybody in this family again, I will personally snap your neck. Don't you ever…EVER try anything with us, or you'll answer to me."

The brute was becoming bored with the shorter teen's talk. "I could snap your whole body like a tooth pick." He smiled malaciously. "Or I could just stab your guys's slut and be on my—"

The inmistakable sound of fist to flesh contact was heard. Rexxi had reacted without thinking, punching the giant hard, in the gut. "DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!"

"REXXI!!" Saturn shouted. Silence fell, other than Paul's gasping and the murmers of the unnoticed crowd. "Don't…let's just go."

Ghost glanced at her, "What?! But he just—"

"Please Ghost…let's get outta here." Saturn interrupted. "Come on Slim, we gotta go get you fixed up."

Slim nodded, his hood sliding off his head. His eyes were revealed, something his assalant would never forget. They were a dull milky-blue, staring past the world that barely existed to him. They seemed haunting and gruesome, nothing like a regular iris. "It's really nothing to worry about." He lifted a sleeve to his nose. "Once it's done bleeding I'll be all right."

Saturn walked over to him and Hush. Pulling Slim's hood over his eyes for him and smiling warmly at Hush the three headed for the door. Rexxi followed, digging his hands into his jean's pockets. "Sorry…just don't talk to my friend like that." He muttered to Paul, and followed his companions out the shop's front doorway.

Ghost stood there. He just stood there for a long moment, just glaring at Paul. It was a blank, cold stare that sent shivers through the crowd and even the tough guy who was receiving the look. Ghost opened his mouth to speak…paused…closed it and left, paying Freddie on the way out.

Outside the five sat in an empty lot on Galverse Drive. Saturn had given Slim her bandana to clean the blood off of his face. Hush had grabbed some ice and given it to his brother, a look of understanding plastered on his face. Ghost had sat down right next to Saturn and Rexxi across from them. All five were silent for a few minutes, considering what had just happened. "Thanks you guys." Saturn grinned.

A mutual laugh of relief rolled over the group. "Did you see the look on his face when Ghost started yelling?" Rexxi grinned.

"No," Slim beamed as well. "But I can imagine it."

Another small laugh bubbled through them, less awkward and nervous than before, but still a little shaky. "And then when you punched him Rexxi! HAH!!! I'll never forget that." Ghost added.

"He had it coming." Rexxi shrugged, pushing his black&green bangs out of his ice blue eyes.

Ghost nodded. "I almost lost it you guys. I thought I was going to…"

"Hey," Saturn grinned, "None of that! That was one of the highlights of my life! Just enjoy it for a moment will ya!" She laughed, causing him to laugh, making Hush grin, making Rexxi burst out laughing, which—in turn—forced a bloddy nosed Slim to laugh.

It didn't take much to get that little family of friends to laugh, but who could blame them. If they didn't find joy in the small things they wouldn't find it anywhere.

The talk and laughter continued for a while, before the five finally calmed down. Hush started playing with Saturn's hair while Rexxi and Slim went off to find some licorice (don't ask yet, you'll find out) leaving Ghost and Saturn to talk.

"So," Saturn pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them with her arms and resting her chin there. "How's life?"

Ghost mimicked her movements, taking on his best mockery of her voice. "Life's been wild." He chuckled before letting his knees fall so he was sitting cross legged. He picked a daisy and twirled it between his fingers. "We've missed you up here. Things aren't the same as they used to be."

"I have to work now Ghost, I gotta pay the rent."

"I know…but it seems like you're gonna work yourself to death."

Saturn picked her own daisy and handed it to Hush. "I doubt it. Work is easy with everyone slacking off."

"Yeah, but you're working all the time. Plus, I worry about you."

"Worry," She gasped. "You…worry??"

They both laughed, Hush grinning as he slid the daisy behind Saturn's ear. The three of them sat in silence, watching clouds pass and cars fly by and pedestrians hurry along their way. Saturn was thinking about her place in the universe went a sudden, sharp pain came from her shoulder. She looked over to see Hush, prodding at it. "Ouch Hush, that hurts dude!"

He looked at her questioningly, then at Ghost. The white haired teen leaned in closer, pushing her shirt out of the way a bit to see. "Saturn, that looks like a knife wound." He cocked an eyebrow. "Are you forgetting to tell us something?"

Saturn swatted his hand away playfully, "Oh yeah, I forgot to grab the chocolate milk before we left the pizza shop." She was good at covering up.

But Ghost was good at reading her, "Lies!" He growled, equally playful. "I know you to well Saturn. What's going on?"

"I already told you," Saturn was losing the playful air to her voice. "It's nothing!"

Hush rested a hand on Ghost's shoulder and shook his head, his eyes saying, 'Let it go for now.'

Sighing, Ghost agreed. "Fine, but I won't let you hear the end of this if anything else happens."

Saturn could hear somebody running up beside them. Instincts told her to roll out of the way; the pattern of footsteps revealed that they were preparing to tackle her, but her brain registered the slightly uneven pattern. It was just Rexxi, who walked with a little limp since he sprained his ankle the previous month. Sure enough, she faintly heard him dive towards her and drag her to the ground, "ATTACK OF THE BLACK DOOM!!!!" He yelled. Saturn pretended to be taken off guard.

"REXXI, get OFF!" She laughed, jokingly shoving him off.

"Smooth dude," Ghost rolled his eyes. "You just ruined another golden moment with you're A.D.D. outburst."

The tall, muscular teen pretended to look sheepish for a moment, "My most sincere apologies…But we got licorice!!" (Again don't ask. You will find out!)

The moment he said this Slim held up four packages of strawberry licorice, "Jackpot," The blind boy grinned past the others.

They all laughed, Ghost helping Saturn and Hush off of the ground. "Let's go to The Playground before it gets too late." Saturn suggested. "We don't want to disappoint them."

The others agreed and they were off. Rexxi immeadiately launched into one of his epic tales of awesome porpotions (at least that's what he considered his random stories to be) and kept everyone entertained as they made the long journey towards The Playground.

Saturn knew The Playground well. No, it wasn't a couple of swings, a set of monkey bars, and a little slide with a long line of toddlers behind it. No, there was no picnic bench for families who were taking their children out to play. No, it was not an attraction for young children…it was home for them.

Ever since Saturn had turned 13 she had visited the spot at least once a month, most of the time it was five or six times. It started out as an after-thought, something she did to please her parents. But slowly, the reality of the children's predicament set in. These children were either orphaned, mentaly challenged, or simply unwanted. They resided at a children's care facility called The Playground.

When the idea sank into Saturn's head, she realized how hard these kids had it. So, she worked even harder. One day, Slim volunteered to help her. Then Hush tagged along. Pretty soon Rexxi was coming, dragging Ghost along behind him. Now they all came as often as they could, whether it was all of them together or just one or two of them they came. Last time he'd been there Slim promised the kids they'd bring them licorice. Hence, the four packages the teens were now lugging around.

It wasn't a big building, but it was very nice for being built in western Gotham. It was four floors tall, constructed of bricks and mortar. It was an old place to state the very least, but a nice one that served its purpose.

The first floor was the lobby and classroom. People could adopt children (though they rarely did), make donations, or drop children off (though they did this often, it was usually by abandoning the child outside). It was sad to see a child leave the facility, but horrifying to see them come. The classroom was where the children would study and take small classes in the afternoon. Though it may seem silly, the children looked forward to classes.

The second floor was the miniature library, the playroom, and the lunch room. The library was always chock-full of donated books, begging the children to read them. This part of the facility was always crowded, but always quiet, so it was easy for a kid to lose themselves in their stories. The playroom was equally busy. It was filled to the brim with toys (donated) and finger paints (donated) and molding clay (donated) and coloring books (donated). The lunch room consisted of several small tables where breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all served.

The third floor was half boys' dormatories and half girls' dormatories. The boys' dorm rooms were split so three boys shared each room. Each room had pale blue curtains and bed-clothes and white walls with wood floors. The boys' were free to choose how to decorate their room (as long as they could agree on one way). The girls' dorm rooms were basically the same; only there were two girls per room and the curtains were cream colored and they could choose between light powdery green or pink bedding. It was usually void of any children (unless it was naptime or bedtime) other than the occasional lonely boy or girl who wanted to spend the day in their room. There were six rooms of each.

The top floor was strictly the nursery and the 'nurses' office. The nursery was quiet most of the time. There would usually be two or three infants to care for and maybe three or four toddlers at the most. It consisted of eight cribs (they were rarely ever all full). The 'nurses' office was where the sick children would stay and scraped knees were bandaged. All sorts of first aid equipment were up there, safetly locked away in a small room where children couldn't reach.

The five misfitting teens considered the place a second home and the workers there considered them angels. When any of them showed up the workers would all greet them warmly, showering them with "thank you-s" Today was no different.

Three children had been patiently waiting on the frontsteps of The Playground for twenty three minutes and fourty seven seconds (They had kept careful track). One was a young girl and the other two were little boys. With a collective cry of joy they all leapt up and ran towards the five teens. "Atticus! Asher! Kai! Jude! Skye!" They all shouted. At these shouts several children poked their heads from around the corners of the house and upon seeing the five of them joined in the celebratory whooping and bull-rushed the visitors.

"Hey guys!" Rexxi called, wincing a bit at hearing his original name. Kai had never rested well with him and he never liked being Kai Jones; too unusual of a first name and to typical of a last for his tastes.

Atticus (Hush) and his brother Asher (Slim) were immediately tackled by a few oncoming boys. With three seven year old boys pummeling each twin they quickly became overwhelmed. "No fair." Slim pouted. "I can't see you guys!"

"Yeah," One of the boys clinging to his leg reasoned, "But you're this many years bigger." He held up ten fingers and then three more. "I can't even fit them onto two hands."

Saturn was surronded by four smaller girls herself. "Skye, Skye!" One waved her arms excitedly to get her attention. "I've been practicing!"

"Okay Kallie, let me see how well you can do it now." 'Skye' played along.

The other three girls watched as Kallie did a tight somersault, landing in a crouch. "TA DA!!"

The three girls clapped. "YAY Kallie!" One shouted, twirling around. "Kallie practiced every day since you left Skye. Why were you gone so long?"

"Yeah," The third chimed in. "We missed you Skye! You didn't come for a lot of days!"

Saturn felt a little guilty. "Oh, girls I'm so sorry. I had so much work that I couldn't come." She knelt down and gathered all four into a close hug. "I'll try to come more okay?"

"Okay!" All four squealed.

None of the children were that interested in Ghost. Jude. Hah. It had been months since anybody had called him that. He tried not to think of the last time his mom called him that, before she kicked him out of the house. Jude. The name had fit him to a "T"…but Ghost just kind of slipped in and took its place. Just like his mom's boyfriend slipped in and took his mom away. Shaking his head, Ghost forced a smile. "We brought licorice for snack time!!"

* * *

"Must you go so soon kids?" Mrs. Izza, better known as Nanny, asked. "After all it's getting dark. You shouldn't walk home at night, especially you Skye."

"I'll be all right Nanny," Saturn smiled reassuringly. "I walk home all the time at night."

"Yeah, and pity whoever tries to argue with Saturn." Hush added, chuckling.

After long goodbyes to all of the children the teens began to head home. Slim and Hush turned off onto Bakers Street after about twenty minutes and then Ghost jogged towards his house on Main Ave. So it was just Saturn and Rexxi for the last half-hour. "How's work been?" The latter asked, pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"Busy," Saturn lied. "I have a lot of paper work to do. I was lucky to escape for just one day."

There was an awkward pause as Rexxi scrutinized the knowledge and Saturn hoped he didn't figure it out. "I worry about you Skye." Saturn froze. None of the boys called her by her first name, especially not Rexxi. He stopped and his ice-blue eyes bored into her brown ones. "You've changed Skye…I know this is what you want and it's good for you to be on your own like this but…" He sighed, leaning back against a nearby wall. "We…I really miss having you here. I don't get half the things Ghost is talking about and I can't help him out with his issues while mine are so messed up. How are you so good at this Skye?"

She shook the icy feeling off and beamed. "Because I love you guys. I want what's best for all of us because ya'll are the best family I've ever had."

Rexxi smiled and started walking again, Saturn close behind. They walked a few blocks in silence, thinking over what the other had said. Suddenly Saturn added,

"Plus, if I don't take care of you then who will?"

They both laughed.

* * *

Scarlett chewed her lip as she waited on top of the building she had seen Robin on the night before. She had already called the cops for two pick-up jobs while she was waiting and she had knocked out three guys. Robin still hadn't shown.

Then, she caught a noise. So faint that the untrained ear would pass it off for a breath of wind but Scarlett knew, it was the swish of a cape as a masked teen touched down behind her on the cement roof. "It's nice to know you weren't just making this up." Scarlett turned to face him, pushing her lengthy cape out of her way. "I was starting to think you were just telling me that to get me off the streets for one night."

Robin smiled grimly, "Why would I do that? It's not like you'd stay away."

"Mmhmm," A smirk played at the corners of the masked girl's mouth. "And I suppose Batman doesn't know about me yet?"

For a fraction of a second the raven-haired boy winced, but he quickly smoothed it over. "No, he doesn't know…yet."

Scarlett walked over until she was right in front of Robin. Their eyes met and the latter thought he could feel his heart skip a beat. Stupid teenager, he belittled himself.

The former didn't notice and she held his gaze. "So…" She smiled again. "What's the plan?"

**Originally I was going to have the battle scene here too, but it got WAYYY to long. I hope you all enjoyed, please review :D**


	4. Trust and Illegal Bank Accounts

**Trust and Illegal Bank Accounts**

**(Warning; mild violence)**

Robin could play games. He knew he could keep up with the twisted words and witty remarks of villains. He could even keep up with Batman when he was in the mood for a rant. And somehow, Scarlett's quick remarks managed to get him completely turned around and at an absolute loss for words.

After a quick run-down of the situation and the plan—which ended up being smattered with smart quips curtosy of the masked young woman—Robin watched Scarlett carefully as she kicked through the glass skylight of Gotham's First National Bank. Turns out, she was quite good at it and had the pane shattered with one swift swing of her leg.

"After you," She invited with a teasing smile.

'Cocky amateur,' Robin leapt through the hole in the glass and landed in a deep crouch. "Nobody move!"

Even as he spoke several of the clerks drew heavy and highly illegal fire-arms.

With a soft thud Scarlett joined him. "You know a simple no would've been better than giving away your positions." She launched herself across the table and kicked one of the guns out of a clerk's hands. The bulky man muttered a curse before throwing an unmeasured punch at the thin girl's jaw.

Robin let her polish off the rest of them as his keen eyes surveyed the scene, searching for the one who would try and call for help from the rest of the mob. Bingo, he grinned grimly as one of the shorter men standing near one of the office doors sidled in. Throwing one last cautious glance at Scarlett he followed him quickly and silently.

The man had snatched a corded phone off of the polished desk in the far too simple office. Speaking in a hoarse whisper he muttered, "Boss, it's the bird and the new girl. They've got the place—"

Robin yanked the phone out of his hand and slammed it back onto the base, "Time to talk."

One hard glare into the man's eyes told the masked hero all he needed to know. He was just a minnow, hired help that came a dime a dozen. He was also easily scared and easily forced to talk. Perfect. "Please, don't hurt me."

"Shut up," Robin spat. With one hard right hook he had all the proof he needed. This man would spill. "Who do you work for?"

"Moroni!" The man cowered. "He just told me to give him a call if anyone tried anything, I swear I don't know—"

Robin grabbed the man's collar. "You know more than that. How much it stored here?"

"A-a-a c-couple million I think. It's n-not much but it's enough to worry about." The man was stuttering.

Carefully Robin aimed a punch at the man's gut, knocking him out cold. Handcuffing him to the desk drawer the teen turned to exit the room.

Spending a few minutes to go through the drawers to collect the files he'd need Robin could faintly hear the gun-fire and surprised cries from the mobsters in the next room over. Scarlett had her work cut out for her, especially since it was her first major bust… but she could clearly handle it.

Finally deciding he wasn't going to find anything more incriminating than the mean Scarlett was taking down and the one he'd handcuffed to the nearby desk, Robin bailed.

The sight welcoming him wasn't exactly what he'd expected. Eight unconcious men were piled up in front of the main desk and Jim Gordon was standing next to them, scratching his head. Scarlett was nowhere in sight. A barely visible note was written in Sharpie on the wood of the desk. 'To Jim Gordon; Sorry they're a little banged up. I couldn't get them to sit still. Signed: Scarlett... P.S. The mob cash is in the safe.'

Deciding that was a witty enough ending to this bust Robin left through the back door without being spotted. The night was still young and there was plenty of time to track down Scarlett. If she wanted to play games, fine, they would play games.

But Robin got to choose what games to play. It was his city after all.

It took a lot less time to find her than he'd expected. She was sitting on a restaurant's rooftop staring up at the sky.

"You could've at least said goodbye." Robin sighed, sitting down next to her.

She looked away quickly, pulling her cape further around her. "I figured you had what you wanted so I left a note and got out of there."

Frowning he tried to catch her gaze. "What's wrong? Didn't you get enough lines in?"

She giggled for a moment, but didn't look up at him. "No, I had plenty of lines." Scarlett held her arm up a bit. It was bruised and swelling a bit (maybe even burned slightly); the bruises were arranged in the outline of several fingers. "I'm worried that this is gonna keep swelling up."

Robin gently took her arm in his hands and examined the bruises. "Ouch," He murmured. Reaching into the side of his belt he pulled out a roll of medical gauze. "Hang on."

He carefully wrapped her forearm and then tied it tightly. They sat there for a minute or two, him holding her arm tenderly between his hands. Then she retracted her hand and smiled gently at Robin. "Thanks…who knew you could train birds so they could also be field medics?"

"Ha-ha." He rolled his eyes and leaned back so he was resting on the palms of his hands. "You are hilarious."

"And you're actually kinda smart…" Scarlett paused, beaming widely, "For a stalker."

Letting himself chuckle at the last bit, Robin examined Scarlett's eyes. They were simply brown…not really defining. They were easily lost within the mask she wore…easily forgotten, easily mistaken. They reflected the lights of Gotham city clearly, and he could faintly see his own reflection on her onyx pupils.

Blushing a bit when she realized he was gazing directly into her eyes Scarlett stood up and put her hands on her hips. "So, is THE boy wonder up for round two?"

Robin was a little startled. "You mean you want to go out and polish off a few more bad guys?"

"The night is young Robin, and so are we. All of Gotham is at our fingertips, so why turn in this early?"

She had a point. Robin figured, shrugging and standing up next to her. "In that case, wanna head east and see what kinda trouble we can get ourselves into?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

By the end of the night the two had polished off fourteen different crimes of varying outcomes and numbers of criminals. It was an excellent haul and they moved even faster when together than alone. A fight that would've usually taken a long amount of strength and clean-up was dwindled down to a few hard punches and swift kicks and a fast call to the Commissioner's office.

They made a great team, even when they were teasing each other and constantly taking jabs at one another's pride. Scarlett's remarks were always wittier and sharper than Robin's, but that was mostly because he was too impressed by her to really have anything to tease her about. At first he thought it was just his imagination, but then it occurred to him that she had literally NO protection. Her costume was simple and cheap and she didn't have a single weapon to her name. Unarmed and unprotected…and yet she was moving just as quickly and easily as he was.

They made it through the night with most of their pride left and only a few scratches and bruises.

"Well, this was a fun night." They were on that rooftop again. The one where he'd let her know he had been following her.

"You have a horribly corrupt view of the word 'fun'." He teased.

She rolled her eyes, too tired to argue. She'd give him that one, but only because she'd won the rest of them. "I guess I'll see you around?"

"I suppose." He shrugged. "I guess we'll be on the news tonight. The public will want an encore."

"They always do." She sighed. "Well, good morning Robin. Try and get some shut eye. I know your young mind has seen things tonight that will haunt you forever."

He was in the process of thinking of a come back when she added, "And thank you. I kinda had fun…kinda…"

And then she took off running across the rooftops.

Smiling to himself he thought triumphantly, 'I win…at least this time…'

_

* * *

_____

*RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG*

"Ugh…" Saturn lifted her head off of her pillow slowly. "Whose stupid idea was it to make alarm clocks so annoying?" She grumbled, smacking her spazzing alarm clock's timer down. It shut up immediately.

Stumbling into the bathroom Saturn splashed water onto her face and looked out her window. It was a pretty quiet morning for six o'clock in southern Gotham. The crime was winding down as all the still honest people were getting ready to get to work. It was a Tuesday morning after all.

Since she'd stayed home from work to go to The Playground the previous day Saturn had no option other than staggering around her room in preparation to leave. Then she'd have to trek down the road all the way to the editing office where she worked and sit around all day researching and writing for the newspaper. It was a taxing job but worth it considering the pay-check she got every Friday. Not to mention the possibility of finding a REAL job in the process.

That day ended up being no different than any other…at least until five o' clock that afternoon.

That was when Rexxi showed up for an unannounced visit. Poking his black&green head into her small office he said, "Hey Saturn, ya gotta minute or two?"

To be completely honest, she had at least 10 thousand more words to type. But, it was shaping up to be a pretty good day for dishonesty. "Yeah, I have a few hours. Come on take a seat."

He plopped down in the leather chair in front of her mahogany desk. Propping his feet up on top of some of her papers he grinned at her. "You will never guess what I brought for you."

"Enlighten me." She returned the smile and mimicked his position, putting her own high-heeled feet up on her desk. Her work clothes were very different that her everyday outfits. Dress shorts, a nice buttoned up top, simple high-heels, and maybe a necklace. Her hair would be thrown up in a messy bun and her mangs carefully pinned back.

Rexxi tossed her a folded up newspaper, "BAM! Genius idea alert on front page."

Saturn's heart nearly stopped when she read the headlines; 'Scarlett Shadow: A New Menace in Gotham?' She feigned a teasing air and looked up at him. "I don't follow."

"Don't you see?" He seemed surprised, "It's a new article, just for you!"

"Still lost," She sighed, forcing the beating in her chest to slow to a healthy level.

"Just read it, it'll come to you."

Rolling her eyes, Saturn began to read.

She came out of nowhere. It was just two nights ago when she'd made her first appearance. It all started with a phone call to the police. The operator recording the conversation had written the call down for police study. A female voice spoke, "I just found a few guys ready to rob a young woman. I took care of em but you need to come pick them up. They're in an alleyway on Route 14 in East Gotham. I won't be there." The police decided to investigate and found three men chained together in the described alleyway. They were all heavily injured and plead guilty to attempted robbery. All begged to be put in protective custody.

Several more appearances occurred throughout the night. All who were involved claimed that a masked girl appeared out of thin air. She'd deliver some smart remarks and then take them down, tie them up, and tell the ring-leader he had to spill. Those interviewed by the police claimed she'd referred to herself as a 'Shadow' and tell them her name was 'Scarlett'. Now all of Gotham wants to know, 'Who is this girl and what entitles her to be out on the streets?'

Saturn finished the last few paragraphs—those outlined this Scarlett Shadow's adventures with the Boy Wonder the previous night—and then looked at Rexxi. "Okay, so how is this helping me?"

Rexxi dropped his feet off of the desk and leaned forward so he was face-to-face with his friend. "Do a column on Scarlett."

"I cover real news. Not some girl gallivanting around in long-underwear and playing masked hero like a little kid. I'll write about her right after I go hunting for Batman."

Rexxi sighed. "Okay fine, I was just thinking I could make your job more exciting."

Saturn smiled understandingly at him. "Thank you…I really appreciate it, it's just that I'm kinda swamped right now, even without work."

"Is this about the cut on your shoulder?" He asked.

Saturn had gon to pick up a folder full of files that she'd just finished, but the whole thing slipped through her fingers and scattered across the floor. Her face whipped up to look at him. "What?"

"The cut on your shoulder," Rexxi repeated, stooping down to collect some of the paperwork. "Ghost told me about it."

"Did he tell Slim too?" Saturn joined him, scooping up several of the papers and stacking them neatly.

"Nah, just me… I think Hush knew though. We're all worried about you Saturn. You know we are."

"I'm fine. I promise."

Rexxi examined her face carefully. Saturn looked away, praying he wouldn't see right through her like he always had. Of course he did, "I miss you Saturn." He sighed, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "I miss having you around to go visit the kids and harassing Paul and playing in the band…but, I could care less about those things if I didn't have to worry about you all the time."

"Kai," Saturn sighed, hurt more by his words than she'd show. "I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to keep things the way they were but…but I can't hold time back forever. Things change…but we can all still hang on…can't we?"

Rexxi opened his mouth to speak…but had the grace to close it. Of course she understood what she was saying. He gathered the rest of the papers and handed them to her. "You're right. Sorry I went all emo on ya there!" He laughed, giving her hair a playful tug. "I gotta go before my parents notice I'm gone…they'll probably call the cops if they know I'm out."

With one last goofy smile Rexxi left. He walked alone all the way back to his house in northern Gotham. In the matter of moments he went from blending in well to standing out in every crowd that walked by. One woman even had the nerve to tell her son—loudly enough for everyone near her to hear—that he was the kind of person that he should never talk to and never be friends with. Rexxi had to smile at that. He wasn't trying to play role model.

Reaching his front door, Rexxi took one last deep breath before pulling the door open. Almost right away his ears were attacked with the sound of his arguing parents. His mom was yelling something about his dad being at work constantly and his dad was hollering about that being ludicrous.

He limped into the kitchen (exaggerating to get his parents to shut up) and pulled the chocolate milk out of the fridge. "Hi Ma, Hey dad," he greeted vaguely, grabbing a glass from the flawlessly varnished cabinets.

Immediately the shouting stopped and both of his parents anger vanished into sweetly smiling faces.

"Hi honey, how was your day today?" His mother asked conversationally.

After taking a long gulp of the chocolaty goodness Rexxi answered, "Pretty nice actually. I just went out for a walk." For a bit more theatrics he limped over to the counter (maybe exagerating a bit) and leaned unsteadily against it.

"Kai, buddy, are you sure that's such a good idea?" His Father asked, frowning slightly. "It's only been a month since you hurt yourself and I worry that you'll strain your injuries."

Rexxi laughed-a falsely cheerful laugh-and dragged his sleeve across his upper lip, wiping away the excess chocolate milk. "I'm fine. In fact, I wanna go visit the kids today."

His mom beamed at the mention of The Playground's children while his father cringed.

Man…even for cheery ol' Rexxi it was going to be a hard day pretending to be Kai.

**TADA! There's finally some hidden messages in my work. :D Just look for 'em. Any whozzits, I need reviews…this is becoming horribly uninspired and is gonna turn into cliché filled sludge unless you people critique me. Nothing fancy, just a nudge every so often.**

**I own no batman, though I own Skye/Saturn, Kai/Rexxi, Asher/Slim, Atticus/Hush, Jude/Ghost, and Scarlett. I also went a bit OOC on Robin here and there. I also own the storyline…If you steal any I will sick my imaginary friend on you… 0.o**

**OKAY!**

**Lots of Lazers,**

**RITS7**


	5. Extravagantly Boring

**Chapter 4**

**Extravagantly Boring**

**(Warning; Mild Violence) **

**(one week after the previous chappie)**

No matter where one stood in the room they could still see the rich suppliers dressed in their best, the shimmering champagne flues as they were lifted to lips, and the quaint candlelight flickering from the old time chandelier.

It was another one of Bruce Wayne's parties; they were coming more and more often recently. This particular event happened to be a masquerade. Everywhere there were feathered masks, shimmering dresses, perfectly pressed suits, and the sound of violin music.

One man seemed younger than the rest. He was wearing a black suit with a dark blue tie, his crow black hair combed back carefully, and his face half hidden by a Phantom of the Opera mask. Even some of his closest friends would have to double-take to be sure it was the usually wild haired Tim Drake behind the mask.

He was chatting with a few of the buisnessmen near to him. "Of course they're an excellent branch, but it almost seems pointless to have them when we're already nearly done with that project."

"Yes, that is true." The man on his left nodded. "But there is no real reason to deprive so many workers of their jobs."

All of them nodded in agreement.

"Of course not," Tim spoke up again. "I'm not saying take their jobs, I'm just suggesting a transfer. It's entirely up to you, if anything I'm probably wasting your time."

The conversation continued; Back and forth and back and forth ranging from political view-points to the weather. Tim found it all increasingly boring. Horribly and painfully boring. He'd never really liked these parties and had avoided them as much as he could…but Bruce insisted…as he always did.

Finally, he thought of an excuse to get out of the conversation. A young woman was standing near the doorway, alone. She was dressed in a light lavender dress that plumed out at the bottom and was a corset at the top. Her mask was made of purple feathers and came up to two points at the tips. Her back was to him, but he could see her brown hair… a very familiar shade of brown.

"Excuse me gentlemen, it's always a pleasure but I have more guests to speak with." Tim shook hands with each of the men.

"It's always nice to hear from you Mr. Drake."

He nodded a goodbye and set off towards the young woman. She was holding a small lavender colored purse and snapping it open and shut nervously.

"Excuse me?" He asked, stopping next to her.

She turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Well, if it isn't Timothy Drake."

Tim's excitement melted away when he saw her eyes…they were a light green…not at all the color he'd hoped for. "The one and only," He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "But I don't think I've ever seen you around."

"Skye," She smiled sweetly. "Skye McKinley. It's my first time to one of these parties."

"Are you here as a rich loaner or a pleased contributor?"

"Neither. I'm here as an ecstatic receiver. I work with The Playground in western Gotham. I've been volunteering there for six years."

"I've heard of it." Tim held his hand out. "Care to dance?"

"Not at all… but I'm willing to learn. I've never really danced like this." Skye blushed, letting her hand rest in his.

He led the way to the dance floor. "Okay, you just put your hands up on my shoulders or behind my neck and let me lead. I put my hands on your sides." She followed his instructions and he placed his hands lightly on her hips.

"So now I just follow your lead?" She bit her lip.

"Right," After a few moments of silence while they danced to the violin music he spoke again, "So tell me more about The Playground. I've heard of it but I've never really been there."

"It's hard to describe. It's really just a small orphanage. There are classes for the kids, a little library, a few rooms, a nursery, a playroom, and a lunch room." She sighed. "It can be pretty sad sometimes…"

"From what I've heard about it, it sounds like a great place. I'll have to visit sometimes."

"Taking a day off from the toiling life of the idle rich?" Skye teased, continuing her gentle swaying.

Tim laughed, "You're pretty quick you know that?" She joined in his laughter and then he added, "No, I don't really work here yet. I'm planning on getting a job soon though."

"You should visit though…The Playground I mean; if you like over-excited children that is. They'd all love to meet you."

"What days do you volunteer?"

"I'm actually heading in next Friday."

Tim frowned, "I dunno, I might be busy lying around here…but I'll probably be able to squeeze you in."

"Oh, I don't want to impose on your busy day!" Skye teased. She purposefully stepped on his foot. "After all you may get suddenly very exhausted from walking from your bedroom to your bathroom in the mansion."

They kept talking, throwing in little snips at each other occasionally. They spent the whole two hours together; dancing, eating, and talking. Tim found out she was actually interesting young woman. She was only nineteen (his age ;D) but was living on her own. Skye had dropped out of high school to get a job so she wouldn't need to move back with her parents. She spent pretty much her whole week there.

Needless to say, he was interested. Skye was intellegent, pretty, and quite funny. The only problem was Tim's 'hobby'… she could never know about that.

"So, Mr. Drake, I've told you all about me and I barely know what you do. How did you end up in a set up like this?" Skye rested her chin on the back of her hand, bracing her elbow on the table they were sitting at. She tilted her head a bit, giving her a slightly inquisitive look.

Tim smiled at her kindly, "It's kind of a long story. My dad wasn't really the best care-taker. Mr. Wayne adopted me mostly as a political gesture. At first I thought it was gonna suck to have a rich, stuck-up dad like him but it turns out he's actually pretty laid back."

"Where is he now?" Skye glanced around the room full of beautifully dressed guests. "It's not very often that a billionare throws a party and doesn't come."

"He's out of town but it was already scheduled. He figured I could handle it." Tim conceded (quite honestly) and took another sip of his punch.

"Hmmm…" Skye mused, pushing her bangs away from her masquerade mask.

They sat in silence, watching the dancers.

"Well, I've wasted a full two hours of your time Tim. Thanks…I had fun." She smiled. "I have to get back to my hotel before it gets too late."

"Aren't you from around here?"

Skye shook her head. "No, I'm from Southern Gotham. Amberk County actually; I'm pretty sure I don't want to go through town at night."

"It is a rough part of town." Tim frowned inwardly. He took her hand and kissed it again. "For someone who doesn't care to dance you were quite good at it."

She smiled, mimicked a curtsy, and said, "It was all thanks to your lesson. Let me know how your toes are on Friday."

"Can we meet on Thames Street?"

"I don't see why not." Skye waved, "I better go before these contacts start bothering me. I don't know why I decided to wear them."

"Contacts?" Tim examined her eyes for the twentieth time that night and noticed (for the first time) that contact-lenses were just barely visible. "I barely saw them."

And then they said their goodbyes. And she left.

**Yeah, crap chapter :/ very uninspired right now. :P**

**Gimme reviews so the next one is better…if not, expect another crappy one. :D**

**I own no batman, though I own Skye/Saturn, Kai/Rexxi, Asher/Slim, Atticus/Hush, Jude/Ghost, and Scarlett. I also went a bit OOC on Robin here and there. I also own the storyline…If you steal any I will send my rabid monkee army after you o.0**


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